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kristennd 's review for:
Her Fearful Symmetry
by Audrey Niffenegger
This was one of those difficult-to-rate books where the characters were irritating and the plot twists were predictable but I nevertheless found myself reading the entire thing in one sitting even though that meant staying up two hours past my regular bedtime on a work night. In those situations, I give credit to the writing.
It was more gothic than I expected, which helped give it substance. I really couldn't tell whether I was supposed to like the twins or not, nor whether they were supposed to be insane rather than simply immature. When reading about younger characters (and there are more and more of them) I am careful to recall myself at that age before passing too much judgment, but these two were creepy as often as they were obnoxious. I'm sure I wasn't the only reader to keep thinking of The Shining. And even a little bit of V.C. Andrews, which no book should ever do.
Among the supporting cast, some started out annoying and became likable while others went the reverse. The OCD subplot was handled better than anticipated; I tend to hate those gimmicks. Still not entirely sure where one of the characters went, or what they did, at the very end.
I've never read [b:The Time Traveler's Wife|8603017|The diary of Mrs. Arabella Davies, late wife of the Rev. E. Davies, A.B. Rector of Coychurch. Printed from her own manuscript.|Arabella Davies|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1279575422s/8603017.jpg|13473055], so comparisons weren't an issue. I received this as an advance reader copy from the publisher but the managed to replace it. Bought a real one for our library regardless. Demand was inevitable.
It was more gothic than I expected, which helped give it substance. I really couldn't tell whether I was supposed to like the twins or not, nor whether they were supposed to be insane rather than simply immature. When reading about younger characters (and there are more and more of them) I am careful to recall myself at that age before passing too much judgment, but these two were creepy as often as they were obnoxious. I'm sure I wasn't the only reader to keep thinking of The Shining. And even a little bit of V.C. Andrews, which no book should ever do.
Among the supporting cast, some started out annoying and became likable while others went the reverse. The OCD subplot was handled better than anticipated; I tend to hate those gimmicks. Still not entirely sure where one of the characters went, or what they did, at the very end.
I've never read [b:The Time Traveler's Wife|8603017|The diary of Mrs. Arabella Davies, late wife of the Rev. E. Davies, A.B. Rector of Coychurch. Printed from her own manuscript.|Arabella Davies|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1279575422s/8603017.jpg|13473055], so comparisons weren't an issue. I received this as an advance reader copy from the publisher but the managed to replace it. Bought a real one for our library regardless. Demand was inevitable.